Our role

We are an evidence-based health promotion organisation, influencing all sectors that contribute to health and wellbeing.

Our key role is to lead and support health promotion initiatives to:

promote health and wellbeing and encourage healthy lifestyles

prevent disease, illness and injury

enable environments that support health, wellbeing and healthy lifestyles

reduce personal, social and economic harm.

Te Hiringa Hauora has alcohol-specific functions to:

give advice and make recommendations to government, government agencies, industry, non-government bodies, communities, health professionals and others on the sale, supply, consumption, misuse and harm of alcohol as those matters relate to Te Hiringa Hauora general functions

undertake, or work with others, to research alcohol use and public attitudes to alcohol in New Zealand and problems associated with, or consequent on, alcohol misuse.

Te Hiringa Hauora is proud to be part of the New Zealand health sector team working toward the New Zealand Health Strategy’s goal of helping all New Zealanders live well, stay well and get well. The strategy pursues equitable outcomes for all New Zealanders.

Te Hiringa Hauora acknowledges the special relationship between Māori and the Crown under the Treaty of Waitangi and is committed to recognise and respect the principles of the Treaty. New Zealand’s Māori Health Strategy, He Korowai Oranga sets the overarching framework that guides HPA and the wider health and disability sector to achieve the best health outcomes for Māori.

We were established on 1 July 2012 by the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000. As a Crown agent under the Crown Entities Act 2004, we are required to give effect to government policy when directed by the responsible Minister. However, in delivering our alcohol specific functions, we must only have regard to Government policy if directed to do so by the Minister.

We are funded from Vote Health (the Government’s funds for the health system) and the levy on alcohol produced or imported for sale in New Zealand.

Te Hiringa Hauora

Te Hiringa Hauora was a name gifted to the Health Promotion Agency by the late respected kaumātua New Amsterdam (Amster) Reedy (Te Aitanga a Mate/Uepohatu). Te Hiringa Hauora is described as “the unrelenting pursuit of wellbeing”.

Our vision

New Zealanders realise their potential for good health and improved quality of life. New Zealand’s economic and social development is enhanced by people leading healthier lives.

Our mission

Inspiring all New Zealanders to lead healthier lives.

Transparency statement on information gathering

This transparency statement explains how the Te Hiringa Hauora/Health Promotion Agency collects, uses and shares information gathered about members of the public or other entities (directly or indirectly) in accordance with the Information Gathering Model Standards.

Te Hiringa Hauora does not does not have any law enforcement, regulatory compliance responsibilities, and does not gather any information for these purposes.

The security of our premises is managed in accordance with our health and safety policy and in accordance with government procurement standards and government Protective Security Requirements. The security of our information is managed in accordance our Privacy Policy and in compliance with the Privacy Act 1993, the Official Information Act 1982 and the Public Records Act 2005. The information we hold is used only for the purpose for which it is collected or as otherwise advised, including as described in our privacy policy.

Note where we have serious concerns regarding potential threats to the physical security of staff, or the security of information or places, we will engage an appropriate authority (such as the NZ Police).

Should we identify a need to gather information in scope of the model standards in future, we will ensure compliance with Information Gathering Model Standards, and update this transparency statement.

This statement applies to information gathered by us, our contractors, or any other third parties engaged by us.

Enquiries and complaints

If you have any enquiries about our information gathering activities, or believe we have not acted in accordance with this statement, you should contact us at enquiries@hpa.org.nz

Our work contributes to the Government’s key health initiatives covering a wide range of activities. We are also frequently asked to work on new Government health promotion initiatives.

We’re a small organisation with a big job so a lot of the work we do is in partnership with others including health sector agencies, the community and voluntary sector, non-government organisations, central government, territorial authorities, education sector agencies, businesses, the media, policy makers, academics and researchers.

We are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of people who experience the greatest health challenges and inequities. This includes Māori, as tangata whenua, and other communities such as Pacific peoples and those with a low socioeconomic status.

Our work is divided into three main areas:

informing health promoting policy and practice

enabling health promoting initiatives and environments

promoting health and wellbeing.

Informing

Research and evaluation is key to every aspect of our work.

We undertake and support research and provide advice to inform our own work and the work of others. We also influence the development and implementation of policies and laws by contributing to interagency processes, making submissions to central and local government and by providing evidence-based research.

Enabling

An important part of our work is ensuring the environments where New Zealanders live, work, learn and play support and promote health and wellbeing. Our ability to do this is greatly extended by working with others.

We connect with communities to help them develop local solutions to local problems. We also offer specialist knowledge and undertake work to improve how health promotion is incorporated into workplace, sport and education settings.

By providing advice, resources and tools to a wide range of individuals, groups and organisations we help them to promote good health in their own community.

Promoting

For New Zealanders to lead healthier lives, individuals and families need to be aware, motivated and able to improve and protect their own and their family’s health and wellbeing.

Much of our work uses marketing approaches aimed at achieving behaviour change. Promoting health and wellbeing, working with communities and communicating health messages to priority audiences are major parts of the public face of Te Hiringa Hauora.